By John Harrington

Something is stirring in Belfast. The Gaelfast initiative continues to go from strength to strength, participation numbers at underage level in clubs are steadily increasing, and primary and secondary schools are doing huge work to grow the games too.

Into that last bracket fall St. Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School. 28 Mageean Cup titles attest to the fact that the school has always been a hurling powerhouse, but success has never led to complacency.

That was very evident a few weeks ago when they opened a state of the art ball-wall in the school that will strengthen the wrists and hone the skills of generations of hurlers to come.

The current crop are already making good use of it, with the school triumphant in both the Ulster Schools GAA Leonard Cup (U-15 ½) and McNamee Cup (U-13 ½) this year.

Ulster Schools GAA vice-chairperson, Paddy Linden, is a teacher and coach in the school and is proud of the tradition of and passion for hurling that endures in St. Mary’s.

“Both those squads, the McNamee and Leonard Cup squads who have been successful this year, they would start training at 7.30am before school starts and would go up to the ball wall during any free time at all in school,” Linden told GAA.ie

“So, break time, lunch-time. And as well as a ball-wall we have a flood-lit 4g surface and we have three prunty grass pitches in the school as well so we have a lot of good facilities for all sports, but predominantly Gaelic Games.

“In terms of the numbers of kids participating, our U12s, we would have 70 or 80 guys out every Tuesday and Thursday for organised coaching and games. So we're doing well.

“All boats rise with the tide. It's got to do with what the clubs are doing in West Belfast, it's the Gaelfast initiative, it's to do with Cumann na mBunscol. It's everybody working with a collaborative approach.”

A number of years ago a photo of around 100 hurleys belonging to students of St. Kieran’ College stacked up outside the church during the Junior Mass went viral because it vividly captured the passion for hurling that endures in the Kilkenny school.

Linden reckons you could take any number of similar photos if you were to drop into St. Mary’s on an average week, with thickets of hurleys to be found propped up outside classrooms, against the canteen wall, or in corridors. All left close to hand should their owners have a few minutes to puck a ball around at any spare moment in the day.

There has always been a rich tradition of hurling in Belfast, but the changing political times means there’s now a greater confidence in expressing that passion for the game.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t say there’s a revival of hurling in Belfast because it’s always been there, but maybe it’s getting more exposure now,” says Linden.

“When I was a kid it was dangerous to carry a hurl because if you did there was a good chance you’d be picked on by the military or the RUC.

“Since the ceasefire a new generation of children has come through and now you can carry a hurl with pride. Not as a matter of identity, just as an extension of your arm.”

Those flames have been fanned by the Gaelfast initiative which was launched in 2018 with the aim of increasing participation levels in clubs and schools across the county.

Significant gains have been made. The number of children coached every week by Antrim GAA coaching and games development staff has jumped from 1,800 to 5,400 and four blitzes per month reach another 2,000 children.

A particular emphasis has been placed on coaching in primary and secondary schools, and Linden has seen the impact of that at close quarters.

“Definitely,” he says. “Gaelfast run a tournament for U-12s and U-14s in the very first term. So if there's a kid that's arriving to your school from a primary school we can offer him tournament games in the very first week of September, and it's a have a go attitude, it's not a competitive thing at U-12.

“It's about getting kids involved and seeing what they can do. Small blitzes, small-sided games, just a very, very good initiative. And then, obviously, when it comes to our own coaching in the school we're blessed. We have 20 coaches in the school across hurling and football.

“Not all PE teachers of course. I'm not a PE teacher myself, but I've been coaching for 25/30 years. So we're lucky in that regard because the people we have in the school are very committed to Gaelic games.”

St. Mary’s reach into their wider community is a far-reaching one. They’re situated in a real hot bed of Gaelic games in West Belfast where there are 18 clubs alone, and some pupils travel to the school from even further afield such is their positive reputation in both the academic and sporting fields.

Building links with so many clubs is a challenge, but St. Mary’s do a good job of it and recognise a symbiotic relationship is best for both the school and the clubs, which is why their new ball-wall complex is made available to clubs in the evening-time.

“We're just offering it and it's that sort of field of dreams thing, build it and they will come,” says Linden. “Keep pushing it, keep offering it because the kids enjoy it.

“Yes, we have Gaelic families in the sense that it's a generational thing, it's just what you do. But what we're finding is a lot of newcomer kids are beginning to adapt and keep on hurling and playing football.

“Those guys are our pupils during the day and then they’re back up in the school in the evening time representing their club. It's a seamless link, it really is. There's times when we need to stage games and we can reach out to the clubs for the use of their pitch.

“One hand washes the other and it's a good link and a good relationship to have. We can't be seen to serving one club over another so it's open to all clubs.

“And in terms of growing the game in Belfast, I think it’s important to mention Casement Park because we're now dealing with a generation of kids who didn't even know Casement Park was used for Gaelic games. They just see this big derelict space.

“Whereas when I was their age it was your aspiration, it was your dream to get to play at Casement and thanks be to God I did.

“So we would hope that with the Casement Project back on track there will be a massive regeneration of Gaelic games in the area.”